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Overseas Filipinos sending more money home as dollar rises - January 2017 article

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Overseas Filipinos sending more money home as dollar rises - January 2017 article

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http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Overseas-Filipinos-send-more-money-home-on-strengthening-dollar

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What’s the Cheapest Way to Send Money to the Philippines

https://blog.timedoctor.com/whats-the-cheapest-way-to-send-money-to-the-philippines/

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http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/02/10/1551398/ofws-who-they-are-where-they-work-and-what-they-do

-OFW who are they, what they do etc

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The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration noted 1.6 million Filipinos were deployed abroad in 2014. Job orders increased by 10.7 percent to 878,609. Around 43 percent of the job orders were in the service, production, professional and technical sectors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Qatar. - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/500918/money/infographic-where-26-92b-of-ofw-remittances-come-from#sthash.nnVuI6ux.dpuf

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http://www.xpressmoney.com/blog/industry/ofws-the-strong-pillars-of-the-philippine-economy/

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How does the Philippines tax inward remittances of overseas Filipino laborers who send money to their families?

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Answer (1 of 2): Try the documentary stamp tax. When you steal, don't do it all at once, here a little, there a little. There is also the sales tax on goods and yes, the value added tax or VAT. Check the taxes that are taken from you and total the receipts.

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http://www.bayanmall.org/blog/ofw-news-how-to-send-money-to-the-philippines

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Overseas Filipino workers around the world sent $26.92 billion (P1.20 trillion) back to the Philippines last year, up 6.2 percent from $25.35 billion (P1.13 trillion) in 2013, according to the Bangkok Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).  - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/500918/money/infographic-where-26-92b-of-ofw-remittances-come-from#sthash.nnVuI6ux.dpuf

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/500918/money/infographic-where-26-92b-of-ofw-remittances-come-from

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https://www.saveonsend.com/blog/money-transfer-philippines/

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Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the OFW Bank will be established through LandBank’s acquisition of the Philippine Postal Savings Bank, which will be converted into a LandBank subsidiary that will be owned 30 percent by OFWs.

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https://www.metrobank.com.ph/ofw.asp

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There are 1.3 million registered OFW voters, a “great majority” of whom are for Duterte -( OFW supports duterte which leads to accepting the new bank system

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10% of the population of the Philippines or around 9 million people are working overseas as temporary workers at any given time. These migrants are identified as Overseas Filipino Workers, or OFWs. It is important to note that there are 42% of these groups have emigrated permanently to other countries. OFWs differ because they are temporarily based overseas, and are usually sent overseas by an employment agency.

In 2008 US$16.4 billion was sent to the Philippines as remittances, making up 11.4% of the country's GDP (BangkoSentralngPilipinas, National Statistics Office, CIA World Factbook).

http://www.unladkabayan.org/overseas-filipino-workers.html

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Many Filipinos actually think that working abroad can solve most of their problems, specially with finances, but becoming an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) has its advantages and disadvantages. While the promise of a better life has become a reality for most OFWs, this doesn't mean that they are spared with the problems that Filipinos in our country also face.

Here are some of the most common problems OFWs encounter:

1. Providing basic necessities for themselves and their families

Providing basic necessities is one of the major problems of OFWs, whether for themselves or their families, specially if their income is not really as high as they expected. A lot of OFWs make sacrifices and sometimes neglect their basic needs abroad in order to save and provide for their families back home. Aside from not being able to provide their own basic necessities, some OFWs are also not able to send enough money to provide for their families because of the high cost of living abroad. While many of us think that living abroad can make one's life comfortable and easy, it may not always be the case. With the demands and pressures to provide a comfortable life for their families in the Philippines, it is the OFWs that make the greatest sacrifices.

2. Lack of savings

Some OFWs who have been working abroad for years still do not have a savings account. Other OFWs tend to spend a lot on expensive gadgets for themselves or their family members, or splurge when they go on vacation in the Philippines. Because they earn relatively higher abroad than when they were in the Philippines, they would usually spend more than they should in order to fulfill their wants and be able to fulfill their promise to provide luxuries for their families. This problem can be avoided by setting a realistic budget and saving money before spending on luxuries.

3. Relatives and friends who loan and do not pay

Unpaid debts by friends can also pose a problem to OFWs. Since Filipinos are naturally helpful, they may not decline a relative or a fellow Filipino OFW from borrowing from them when they are in urgent need of money. However, OFWs should be comfortable with the idea that it is okay not to lend money when you only have enough for your family.

4. Unpaid loans

Many Filipinos would usually loan money in order to fulfill their dream of working abroad to pay for placement fees or their fares. This problem can be avoided by setting aside a portion of their income in paying for these loans. Some Filipinos, however, loan money because they overspent on their last vacation . Like any financial problem, it is always wiser to set a realistic budget and stick to it.

5. Illegal recruitment

Filipinos who desperately want to work abroad are easily victimized by illegal recruiters. Not only money and effort is wasted, but there is the problem of going back home. Government agencies can help educate and guide OFW applicants like the POEA.

These problems can be avoidable if one understands the purpose of working overseas. If an OFW has already encountered any of these issues, learning from them and taking steps to prevent them from happening again will help an OFW meet his purpose of making the sacrifice in working overseas.

Please also read: 10 Reasons Why Many Filipinos Leave the Country and Go Abroad

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5 Most Common Issues OFWs Encounter - RachFeed

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ShareTweetPinShareMany Filipinos actually think that working abroad can solve most of their problems, specially with finances, but becoming an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) has its advantages and disadvantages. While the promise of a better life has become a reality for most OFWs, this doesn't mean that they are spared with the problems that Filipinos in our country also [...]

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The Comelec said that the April 9 to May 9 overseas voting saw the highest turnout in a decade with 31.65 percent of overseas Filipinos casting their votes.
A total of 432,706 of the 1.37 million registered voters overseas cast their ballots, according to the Comelec

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/785664/duterte-marcos-win-overseas-voting#ixzz4dSiaytfu
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/785664/duterte-marcos-win-overseas-voting#ixzz4dSiRlWY3
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

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The Feminization of Philippine Overseas Labor Migration

These news reports sketch the current face of Philippine overseas labor migration. It is increasingly female and services-oriented. In 1992, of the total deployed, land-based, newly hired OFWs, 50 percent were female. This increased to 58 percent in 1995, 64 percent in 1999, and 72 percent in 2001.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) lists eight skill categories. In the period 1992 to 2001, the skill category “service workers” comprised an average 35 percent of the total number of deployed newly hired, land-based workers (POEA InfoCenter; NSCB). In that ten-year period, “service workers” was consistently one of the top two in terms of newly hired workers deployed. It alternated with the category “production workers,” which was the top occupation of overseas land-based migrants in the 1970s and which was the top occupation of deployed workers in the years 1994, 1996, and 1998-2000. The third highest category in the same period was “professional and technical workers,” which overtook “production workers” in 2001 (POEA InfoCenter).

https://kyotoreview.org/issue-4/overseas-filipino-workers-labor-circulation-in-southeast-asia-and-the-mismanagement-of-overseas-migration-programs/

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Overseas Filipino workers around the world sent $26.92 billion (P1.20 trillion) back to the Philippines last year, up 6.2 percent from $25.35 billion (P1.13 trillion) in 2013, according to the Bangkok Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/500918/money/infographic-where-26-92b-of-ofw-remittances-come-from

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What do we know about overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)?

As a group, OFWs work abroad but their families live generally in our country. OFWs send remittances homeward periodically. These foreign remittances have provided a steady source of dollar earnings, much like the exports we sell to other countries to earn dollars.

My purpose in this essay is to describe detailed information I learned from the latest survey of OFWs by the Philippine Statistical Authority.

(I will leave for later occasions the analysis of remittances and whether OFWs saving.)

Overseas Filipinos. OFWs are only a part of overseas Filipinos who now live around the world. Overseas Filipinos are the larger part of the Filipino diaspora, including OFWs.

According to the Commission on Overseas Filipinos, there are 10.4 million ethnic Filipinos living abroad. OFWs, according to the Philippine Statstical Authority in the 2013 survey estimate, number 2.3 million workers. They represent 22 percent, or roughly one-fifth of the overseas Filipinos.

Among OFWs, 96.2 percent are "overseas contract workers" (OCWs) or workers who work abroad on some form of formal contract of work. We now focus on OFW statistics.

Who are the OFWs? Most of OFWs come from Luzon. The largest group of OFWs come from the CALABARZON provinces comprising 18.4 percent of all OFWs; those that come from Central Luzon provinces, 13.9 percent; and from the National Capital Region, 12.8 percent. Thus, 45.1 percent of all OFWs come from Luzon.

The rest of the OFWs come from the Visayan islands and Mindanao. But it should be noted that Eastern Visayas (dominated by Leyte and Samar) provide 9.4 percent of all OFWs; Western Visayas (Panay and Negros), 6.5 percent.

Fewer OFWs come from Mindanao. But is this a statistical statistical mirage? Mindanao itself is a land of migration from the northern provinces of the country. Do they, in the survey, identify themselves as ethnics from their Luzon and the Visayan origins or with the province of their immediate residence? Nevertheless, all the Mindanao regions provide 13.2 percent of all OFWs.

What age and gender are they? In 2013, there were slightly more women than men among OFWs even though the year before the proportion of women were slightly more than the men.

In terms of age, women OFWs tend to be younger than men. In short, they leave the country at a much younger age.

On average, among men, 26.7 percent belong to the age of 30 years or less. Among women OFWs, 36.2 percent belong to the age of 30 years or less.

Also, women between the age of 30 to 34 comprise 26.2 percent of female OFWs while men in the same age group are only 22.4 percent of all male OFWs.

How do we interpret these numbers? Women go to work abroad at a younger age because they (as it turns out) go there with less educational and work experience and also earn less income than the men.

The men OFWs of age 35 years and above comprise 50.8 percent of them. Women in the same age group of 35 years and above account for 37.6 percent of all female OFWs.

Where do they work? More than half (53 percent) of OFWs in 2013 work in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is the destination of more than one-fifth of all OFWs (22.1 percent). United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the second most popular working destination (15.4 percent of OFWs), Kuwait and Qatar accounting for 11.4 percent of all.

East Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan principally) is the destination of 16 percent of OFWs, just a little above those who go to the UAE. Southeast Asia (principally Singapore and Malaysia) is the destination of 12.2 percent of OFWs.

The three big, continents of Europe, North and South America and Australia account for 13.1 percent of all OFWs, while Africa is a destination of 1.7 percent of them.

In Hong Kong, Singapore in East and Southeast Asia, and in UAE Kuwait, there is a high plurality of female workers compared to men in percentage distribution (by at least six percentage points), indicating these are destinations where women go to work as house helpers.

What occupations do they have? OFWs come from different occupational groups. Numerically, most OFWs are workers with varying levels of skills. Within each professional grouping the skill levels differ.

Among the occupational groups, officials and managers and supervisors comprise 3.5 percent of OFWs; "professionals" about 11.6 percent; "Technicians and associate professionals" 7.6 percent, as well as "plant and machine operators," 11.7 percent.

All of the above mentioned groupings account for 34.4 percent of all OFWs.

But those OFW groups with lower levels of skills are classified as "laborers and unskilled workers" (30.8 percent of OFWs); "service workers and shop assistants" (16.7 percent of OFWs); and "clerks" (5.2 percent of OFWs).

Skills are tied up with incomes of the OFWs. In turn, the remittances they send home provide an indication of their income levels. The survey did not ask questions about incomes. But it did ask about the remittances they send home.

The last mentioned groups send much lower remittances per OFWs than those mentioned among those with higher skills.

For instance, unskilled laborers sent remittances which amounted to 43 percent the amount of remittances that "professionals" sent home. In contrast, "clerks" when compared to the same group of professionals, sent home remittances which amounted to 71 percent of the average remittances sent home by professionals.

Statistical surveys of OFWs. The descriptive statistics I have culled from the survey of OFWs come from the latest available which was undertaken in September 2013.

Actually, the Philippine Statistical Authority has been tracking this important information for some time. In 2008, the effort to survey OFWs became more detailed. The most recent survey represents an effort to yield more information on the phenomenon of OFWs.

In fact, the surveys are undertaken as part of the Labor Force Surveys (LFS), through the addition of more comprehensive questionnaires on Filipinos working abroad.

Source: Philippine Statistical Authority, "Survey on Overseas Filipinos 2013.

My email is: gpsicat@gmail.com. Visit this site for more information, feedback and commentary: http://econ.upd.edu.ph/gpsicat/

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OFWs: Who they are, where they work, and what they do

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What do we know about overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)? As a group, OFWs work abroad but their families live generally in our country. OFWs send remittances homeward periodically. These foreign remittances have provided a steady source of dollar earnings, much like the exports we sell to other countries to earn dollars.

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The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) forecast overseas Filipino workers (OFW) remittances to reach an all-time high of $28 billion in 2016

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Distribution of Overseas Filipino Workers by Major Occupation Group, Sex and Area: 2015

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Distribution of Overseas Filipino Workers by Major Occupation Group, Sex and Area: 2015

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President Rodrigo Duterte fulfilled his another campaign promise to establish a bank exclusively for Overseas Filipino Workers.

On December 6, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol announced that Duterte approved the establishment of a bank for Filipino working class especially the Overseas Filipino Workers.

http://pinoytrending.altervista.org/president-duterte-approves-bank-overseas-filipino-workers/

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With about 2.3 million documented to be working abroad per the latest available data (deployment for 2014),
http://www.actionaid.org/2016/03/tales-inequality-journey-overseas-filipino-worker-ofw

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Reference Number:

Overseas Filipino Workers estimated at 2.4 million

The number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at anytime during the period April to September 2015 was estimated at 2.4 million. Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs) or those with existing work contract comprised 97.1 percent of the total OFWs during the period April to September 2015. The rest (2.9%) worked overseas without contract (Table 1 and Figure 1).

CALABARZON had the biggest share of OFWs

CALABARZON reported the biggest share of OFWs with 17.9 percent followed by Central Luzon with 15.1 percent and National Capital Region with 11.0 percent. OFWs from these three regions accounted for 44.0 percent of the total OFWs. Meanwhile, ARMM reported the smallest percent share of total OFWs at 1.5 percent (Table 2 and Figure 2).

The proportion of female OFWs was higher than male OFWs

The proportion of female OFWs (51.1%) was higher than male OFWs (48.9%). The largest proportion of OFWs belonged to age group 25 to 29 years comprising 25.8 percent of all OFWs, followed by those aged 30 to 34 years with 23.2 percent. Female OFWs were younger compared to male OFWs. About seven percent of female OFWs were in the age group 15 to 24 years and 29.5 percent were in the age group 25 to 29 years while the corresponding percentages of male OFWs in the age groups were 6.8 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively. There were more male OFWs (49.3%) than female OFWs (39.4%) in age group 35 and over (Table 3 and Figure 3).

Saudi Arabia remained the top destination of OFWs

One in every four OFWs (24.7%) worked in Saudi Arabia, which remained to be the top destination of OFWs in April to September 2015. Other countries in Asia which were popular destinations of OFWs are United Arab Emirates (15.5%), Hong Kong (5.9%), Kuwait (5.8%), Singapore (5.7%) and Qatar (5.5%) (Table 4 and Figure 4).

One in every three OFWs was a laborer or unskilled worker

Among occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers (33.2%) was the biggest group of OFWs. One in every three OFWs was a laborer or unskilled worker. About 17.6 percent worked as service workers and shop and market sales workers. OFWs who worked as plant and machine operators and assemblers comprised 12.8 percent, and trades and related workers, 11.8 percent (Table 5 and Figure 5). More than half of the female OFWs were laborers and unskilled workers (54.5%). Among male OFWs, the largest group were plant and machine operators and assemblers (23.2%) and trades and related workers (23.0%).

Total remittances reached 180.3 billion pesos

The total remittance sent by OFWs during the period April to September 2015 was estimated at 180.3 billion pesos. These remittances included cash sent home (135.6 billion pesos), cash brought home (37.3 billion pesos) and remittances in kind (7.4 billion pesos) (Table 6 and Figure 6). The majority of OFWs sent their remittance through banks (62.2%) while the rest through agencies or local offices (4.0%), door-to-door delivery (2.4%), friends or co-workers (0.1%) or through other means (31.4%) (Table 9).

The remittances sent by OFWs to their respective families may just be a part of the total salary received by the OFWs. Data on remittances in this report are based on the answers given by the survey respondents to the questions on how much cash remittance was received by the family during the period April to September 2015 from a family member who is an OFW and how much cash did this member bring home during the reference period, if any. Further, if the family received during the reference period goods and products sent by this OFW, the imputed value of such goods was included in his/her total remittance.

Of the total cash remittance sent by OFWs, 29.2 billion pesos was the total remittance sent by laborers and unskilled workers comprising the biggest share of 21.6 percent. On average, remittance amounts to 41 thousand pesos per OFW who is an unskilled worker. The total remittance of OFWs working in Asia, comprising 83.9 percent of all OFWs, accounted for 76.1 percent of the total cash remittances. From other countries, the percentage shares are as follows, Europe (10.7%), North and South Africa (9.2%), Australia (2.2%) and Africa (1.7%) (Tables 7 and 8).

Two in every five OFWs were able to save from their cash remittances

The total number of OFWs who sent cash remittances to their families from April to September 2015 was about 2.1 million OFWs. Of this number, 39.1 percent were able to save from their cash remittances (Table 10 and Figure 7).

Regardless of the amount of the cash remittances sent, more than three in every five (65.7%) OFWs were able to set aside less than 25 percent of the total amount received (Table 10).

TECHNICAL NOTES

The data presented in this press release were taken from the 2015 Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF). The SOF aims to derive national estimates on the number of Overseas Filipino Workers, their socio-economic characteristics and the amount and mode of remittances, in cash and in kind, received by their families.

The OFWs covered in this report were those aged 15 years old and over and working abroad during the period April 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015.

OFWs include overseas contract workers (OCWs) who were presently out of the country during the reference period to fulfill an overseas contract for a specific length of time or who were presently at home on vacation during the reference period but still had an existing contract to work abroad, and other Filipino workers abroad with valid working visa or work permits. Those who had no working visa or work permits (tourist, visitor, student, medical, and other types of non-immigrant visas) but were presently employed and working full time in other countries were also included.

In this report, the remittances sent by OFWs to their respective families may just be a part of the total salary received by the OFWs. Data on remittances in this report were based on the answers given by the survey respondents to the questions on how much cash remittance was received by the family during the period April to September 2015 from a family member who is an OFW and how much cash did this member bring home during the reference period, if any. Further, if the family received during the reference period goods and products sent by this OFW, the imputed value of such goods was included in his/her total remittance.

Starting July 2003 round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS), the 2003 Master Sample (MS) Design has been adopted. The number of sample households is around 50,000. The SOF, being a rider of the LFS, has adopted the 2003 MS starting October 2003. Careful evaluation must be made in comparing the results of the 2015 SOF with the SOF data prior to the implementation of the 2003 MS.

The province of Leyte was not covered in the 2014 SOF. A new sampling frame for the province of Leyte has to be created. This is because of the large number of households displaced by typhoon Yolanda. The old listing of households for Leyte used as sampling frame for the 2003 Master Sample is no longer usable.

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Reference Number: The number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at anytime during the period April to September 2015 was estimated at 2.4 million. Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs) or those with existing work contract comprised 97.1 percent of the total OFWs during the period April to September 2015.